Assemblies for supporting a plurality of electrical components and connecting them to various power supplies, inputs, outputs and/or to one another are well known. The electrical components are often modular and can be individually connected to and removed from the assembly. Such assemblies may be referred to, for example, as electrical cabinets or racks and generally comprise a structural frame or chassis that supports the electrical components. The assembly may be at least partially surrounded by a housing to protect the electrical components.
The housing, in some instances, may comprise individual panels secured to the chassis. In other cases, a housing may include structural supports integrated therewith and lack a distinct chassis. As used herein, “chassis” will generally refer to structural elements of an electronic assembly and “housing” will refer to elements provided primarily for protecting or covering the electronic modules whether these elements are separately provided or integrally formed.
It is also known to provide such assemblies with a midplane. A midplane is frequently a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of connectors connectable to the electronic modules supported by the assembly. A midplane is generally provided toward the middle of an assembly and often includes electrical connectors on front and rear surfaces thereof so that modules can be connected to both sides.
Typical assemblies include a chassis that is constructed around a midplane, which essentially makes the midplane an integral part of the chassis. This is especially true in the case of “dual bay” or “multi-bay” assemblies which are arranged to support multiple levels of electronic modules stacked vertically and thus have at least two bays on their front and rear sides. If a midplane requires repair or if an upgrade to the midplane is needed, the chassis must be disassembled to a significant degree to access the midplane. This is often difficult to do at a site where the assembly is installed because it may be difficult or impossible to properly realign the midplane with the chassis when it is reinstalled in the assembly. Moreover, employees or contractors skilled in assembling sheet metal chassis may not be adept at handling printed circuit boards, and a printed circuit board may be damaged when a chassis is assembled around it. Electrostatic discharge, for example, can damage the PCB if care is not taken during chassis assembly.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an electrical assembly to which a midplane may be added after chassis assembly is complete and which allows for the easy removal and replacement of a midplane.